Since
the murderous attacks on the World Trade Centers which brought Uncle
Sam's feeling of invulnerability to an end, all accusing eyes and fingers have turned
toward Asia and particularly Afghanistan and Pakistan. All parties concerned believe
the two nations are havens for the Taliban. If America's spectacular crusade succeeded in reducing al-Qaeda and the Taliban to tatters, thwarting their
battle plans and exposing the mystery behind the volunteer [foreign] combatants, it might
be helpful to recognize that in this long-term war, nothing is ever completely
settled.

After
the Taliban collapse, when every kind of Islamist and Jihadist found refuge in
Pakistan, the United States very deftly managed to reinforce [Pakistan
President] Musharraf's political position, and the
contract with the American partner had been sealed.

But
caught between the American hammer and the anvil of the people, including most of the army, the Pakistan
president doesn't know who to turn to. Officially considered an essential ally
in the battle against terrorism, Islamabad is often suspected of playing for
both sides. While fighting al-Qaeda, Pakistan's government deliberately
encouraged the Taliban to fight the coalition in Afghanistan.

But
Musharraf has a number of tricks up his sleeve. In order not to disappoint his
people, the man allows certain fanatics to act as they wish, but not without taking
note of them and learning their "habits." They are pawns to
be offered later to lower the temperature of Uncle Sam. Indeed, it's
not at all unusual for Islamabad to deliver some big fish to the White House as
an offering, depending on the fast-changing mood of the latter. This is
testified to by the capture of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed , considered
one of al-Qaeda's masterminds. He's the one that already had plans in 1995 to
blow up the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.

Furthermore,
American-Pakistani self-congratulation at these assault on al-Qaeda and the theology
student's regime [the Taliban] is about to be badly interrupted.

If
the regime has disappeared, the price has been a general "Talibanization."
In other words, things have gone from Charybde to Scylla [bad to worse].
Signs of growing Taliban influence, like a phoenix rising from the
ashes, are spreading throughout the tribal areas. In these Pashtun regions of
eternal irredentism [areas that are not well incorporated into the state] which
are so prone to boiling over, the Students [the Taliban] impose their laws.

Nawab Akbar Bugti, chief of over 200,000 Bugti tribesmen, was killed
with more than 35 of his followers when the Pakistan Air Force bombed
his hideout. He was a central figure in Balouchistan's growing insurgeny.

[Editor's
Note: Danger can be
personified by monsters from Greek mythology,
in the expression "to go from Charybde to Scylla." Specifically, it refers to when a person escapes one danger to face another more serious danger].

Despite
the assassinations of a hundred traditional tribal chiefs, nothing has changed.
The inveterate militants who replaced them have far more to gain from
fundamentalism. It's not surprising then that the week before last, tensions reached
a climax in Quetta, the capital of the Balouchistan. Things came to a head after
the Pakistan army assassinated tribal chief Nawab Akbar Bugti , who was a revered symbol of the Baloutches' struggle.
Since then, the region has turned into a fundamentalist breeding ground. The Mullahs
control dozens of FM radio stations which promote the radical beliefs spreading
like an oil stain. Meanwhile, various kinds of pressure on non-governmental
organizations are applied on a daily basis.

Now
eternally under suspicion, Pakistan was quick to inject itself into the
investigation of the "doubtful" attacks recently frustrated in London.
Despite the arrests of about 20 British citizens from Pakistan, many shadows
hover over the plot, which raise many more questions that need to be answered. Allegations
implicating Pakistani extremist groups have been released in a torrent. To top
it all off, little in known about the origins of the plot, and no evidence has been
put forward.

At
this rate – Uncle Sam will be stuck in the mud on all fronts, and with
Pakistani authorities increasingly repudiated by their own population – it is
not utopian to think that the Taliban may accomplish their mission. It is a
mission that couldn’t be more audacious: To install a fundamentalist government
in Islamabad.